The soft-power education diplomacy in Beijing is dented by a coronavirus pandemic as thousands of young people are waiting to learn whether they are allowed to pursue their studies back in the region.
This has most affected foreign students from developing countries, particularly African students, the South China Morning Post reported (SCMP).
Thousands of foreign students who left China in the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic are facing hardships and uncertainty, with no word from Beijing as to when they will be able to return to their universities, said Kinling Lo, who wrote an article for SCMP discovering the plight of such students.
China has been a popular study destination, with good quality, affordable education – and a generous availability of scholarships for developing countries students.
According to data from the education ministry, the number of government-funded foreign students has risen almost six-fold over the past 10 years. SCMP estimated that 40 percent of all new foreign students in 2016 earned sponsorships from the Chinese government.
Kinling Lo also cited data published in June last year that stated that the official number of overseas students in China reached 492, 000 in 2018 and that China’s enrollment goal was 500,000 in 2020.
However, when many students are now languishing in their respective countries waiting for their canceled visas to be accepted to re-enter China to complete their courses, the chance has now turned into misfortune for overseas students.
In March, Beijing revoked all visas as it imposed national restrictions to curtail the spread of the pandemic, SCMP announced.
Meanwhile, an online petition was signed by 6500 foreign students calling on China to open its doors to them. Kinling Lo wrote that they have also coordinated a movement on social media, using the hashtag #TakeUsBackToChina.
China was also criticized by the aggrieved overseas students for back and forth entry policies for foreign arrivals from various countries.
An anonymous student said, “They have allowed business travellers … why not us? Now we know we mean nothing to [China],”
Out of 10 students who talked to the South China Morning Post for this report, less than half had received official notice from their schools that online classes for international students would be included in the spring term. No formal or centralized statement from the Chinese government has been made.
Meanwhile, as the justification for its success in suppressing the virus, China praised its tight entry criteria, but this was done at the detriment of its soft-power diplomacy, Kinling Lo said.
